In the competitive landscape of startup accelerators, a16z’s Speedrun program stands out for its rigorous selection process and substantial investment opportunities. The program launched its newest cohort in January. It will lead to a Demo Day in April and invest up to $1 million per each selected company. Speedrun has an acceptance rate under 1%. It has earned a reputation as one of the most competitive incubators in the world, attracting the most ambitious founders looking to quickly grow their companies.
Speedrun is centered around helping the right teams to light, grow, and scale their business ideas. Once primarily focused on gaming startups, it has since broadened its reach beyond that realm. Entertainment, media, and healthcare are all in its wheelhouse. Currently, it functions as a “horizontal program,” admitting 50-70 startups into each cohort, held twice a year.
Investment Structure and Resources
Speedrun’s investment model is fundamentally geared towards helping companies grow. Through it, each chosen startup receives a first investment of $500,000 in exchange for 10% equity via a SAFE note. Should the startup raise additional funding within 18 months, Speedrun will invest a second $500,000. This financial commitment anchors the growing support as the business scales.
Beyond the proven financial investment, Speedrun brings a unique array of perks with the aim of accelerating startups’ go-to-market strategies. Currently, participants in the program can access $5 million in credits. These credits are provided through big-name partners including AWS, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Deel. This massive resource pool gives startups access to the latest technologies and services. Consequently, they are able to exponentially improve their product development and operational excellence.
The Selection Process
The overall process of selection for Speedrun is definitely not an easy or light process. More than 19,000 startups pitched their ideas for the most recent cohort—less than 0.4% were accepted. Equity as a dating guide Founders have to show more than just clarity in their business ideas—there needs to be an energy of teamwork. Joshua Lu, general manager & partner, a16z Discuss 20 years of experience supporting the notion that the best founding teams are cohesive.
“What we really want to hear about is why this founding team is really good together,” – Joshua Lu
For the best impact, we want these founders to describe the deeper, more challenging nature of their projects in straight-forward, meaningful ways. Lu emphasized that Speedrun isn’t looking for flawless companies. Rather, they are looking for founders who can break down foggy issues into smart solutions and future build with conviction. This priority for substance over superficiality underpins not only the application process, but later interactions and actions taken in the program.
Preparing for Success
To cut through that hyper-competitive application process, founders should focus on clarity above all else in their pitch. Mohamed’s most recent program was one such opportunity. He stressed that they should hone in on what the biggest issues are that their startups are looking to solve.
“Instead of polishing buzzwords, we focused on clarity — the real problem, why it’s structurally hard, and why our team is unusually well-positioned to solve it,” – Mohamed
This iterative, sensibility-connected process is a great example of Speedrun’s guiding philosophy that depth usually beats polish. The accelerator pushes participants to keep honesty and clarity at the forefront of their responses. We make it clear to founders that their output in Speedrun will directly correlate to their outcome from the experience.
“We tell founders that come through the program, what you get out of Speedrun is what you put into it,” – Mohamed
The Experience at Speedrun
Once admitted, startups participate in a robust 12-week immersive program that takes place primarily in San Francisco. Along the way, they reap the rewards of mentorship and other resources specifically designed to boost growing seedlings onto upward, faster-growth trajectories. Designed for maximum engagement, the program promotes peer-to-peer learning and cooperation between founders, creating space for breakthrough concepts to flourish.
As we get closer to what will be a thrilling Demo Day, these startups will have an opportunity to pitch their ideas—hopefully, with them—to the world. They’ll pitch live in front of a fully loaded panel of hungry investors! This high-stakes presentation is a critical moment for participants to showcase their progress and secure future funding.
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